isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Barley, chicken and mushroom risotto, no wine

Jennifer Joyce's pearl barley risotto with Halal chicken breast, wild and chestnut mushrooms, shallots and thyme, cooked in Halal stock with no white wine.

  • Cuisine Italian
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 bowls
  • Time 1h
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Chicken in a dark mushroom sauce over wild rice with parsley, beside a tomato slice topped with mozzarella and basil
Photograph of a chicken marsala by jeffreyw (CC BY 2.0), not the finished dish from this recipe.

Photo: jeffreyw · CC BY 2.0

Why Halal checks matter here

The barley is cooked in 250 ml of white wine before the stock goes in, the chicken and chicken stock need Halal sources, and the parmesan is made with animal rennet.

This risotto uses pearl barley instead of rice, simmered with Halal chicken, mushrooms and thyme. The source stirs 250 ml of white wine into the barley first; wine is the khamr the Qur'an forbids, and this site counts wine cooked into food the same way, so here it is 250 ml more stock. That swap is ours.

It follows Jennifer Joyce's barley, chicken and mushroom risotto for BBC Good Food. The source's chicken stock needs a Halal or vegetable version (see stock cubes), and the parmesan stirred in at the end is made with calf rennet, which scholars differ on.

The barley simmers for 40 minutes, topped up with stock if it looks dry, until tender.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • White wine The published recipe stirs 250 ml of white wine into the barley until it is absorbed. Wine is the khamr the Qur'an forbids, and on this site that includes wine cooked into food. Use the same amount of extra stock, as here. See Wine.
  • Chicken and chicken stock Chicken is Halal only when slaughtered the Halal way, and UK chicken stock cubes such as OXO and Knorr contain chicken that is not certified Halal. Buy Halal chicken and use a Halal-certified or vegan vegetable stock. See Chicken and Stock cubes.
  • Parmesan Parmigiano Reggiano must be made with calf rennet, and other hard cheeses may use animal rennet. Scholars differ on rennet from animals not slaughtered the Halal way. Use a hard cheese that names microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, or one your school accepts. See Parmesan.

Safe substitutes

  • 250 ml white wine → 250 ml more Halal or vegetable stock (our swap)
  • 1 litre chicken stock → 1 litre Halal chicken or vegetable stock
  • Parmesan made with animal rennet → A hard cheese with microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet

Allergens

gluten (pearl barley), milk (butter, parmesan)

Ingredients

Risotto

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large shallots, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 3 Halal skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunky pieces
  • 300 g pearl barley
  • 250 ml Halal chicken stock or vegetable stock, hot (our swap for 250 ml white wine)
  • 400 g mixed wild and chestnut mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 tbsp thyme leaves
  • 1 litre Halal chicken stock or vegetable stock, hot
  • 3 tbsp parmesan or another hard cheese, grated (see the rennet check below)
  • to serve snipped chives and cheese shavings, to serve (optional)

Method

  1. Soften the shallots. Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy saucepan. Sauté the shallots and garlic with some seasoning for 5 minutes, then stir in the Halal chicken and cook for 2 minutes.
  2. Toast the barley. Add the barley and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the 250 ml of stock that replaces the wine and stir until it is absorbed.
  3. Simmer. Add the mushrooms and thyme, then pour over three-quarters of the litre of stock. Cook on a low simmer for 40 minutes until the barley is tender, stirring now and then and topping up with the rest of the stock if it looks dry.
  4. Finish. Take off the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Serve straight away, with chives and cheese shavings scattered over, if you like.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Barley, chicken & mushroom risotto' by Jennifer Joyce (serves 4: 2 large sliced shallots and 1 chopped garlic clove sautéed 5 minutes in 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil; 3 skinless chicken breasts in chunky pieces for 2 minutes; 300 g pearl barley for 1 minute; 250 ml white wine stirred until absorbed; 400 g chopped wild and chestnut mushrooms, 1 tbsp thyme leaves and three-quarters of 1 litre hot chicken stock, simmered low for 40 minutes and topped up with the rest if dry; 3 tbsp grated parmesan stirred in; chives and parmesan shavings optional). We specified Halal chicken and a Halal or vegetable stock, and replaced the wine with 250 ml more stock, stirred in the same way; that swap is ours. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Barley, chicken & mushroom risotto — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Jennifer Joyce. Serves 4, prep 10 minutes, cook 50 minutes: shallots and garlic in butter and oil, 3 chicken breasts, 300 g pearl barley, 250 ml white wine, 400 g wild and chestnut mushrooms, thyme and 1 litre chicken stock simmered 40 minutes, finished with 3 tbsp parmesan. We replaced the wine with extra stock.

  2. Wine analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Why wine is Haram, including wine cooked into food.

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